A superb closing eight-under-par 64 from Kyle Mclachlan on Wednesday gave him a one-stroke win in the Bushveld Tour’s Race to Q-School College Sports America Series #1 at Waterkloof Golf Club.
His round of an eagle, seven birdies and a bogey, added to his opening round of seven-under 65 and his second round of two-under 79, saw him finish ahead of Travis Ladner, who carded a closing 65. Also with a closing 65 was Jules Helary who took third place a further shot back on 13-under.
Mclachlan, just back in South Africa after a narrow miss in an attempt to get into the Asian Tour’s Qualifying School Final Stage, started his final round with a par, but then made four birdies in a row from the second hole to make chasing him down a difficult proposition for his pursuers. Another birdie on the seventh made even a bogey on the 10th somewhat irrelevant. He made things look pretty safe with a birdie on the 11th, and, when he picked up his eagle on the 14th, things were pretty much done and dusted.
Well – almost! Ladner had made a charge on the outward nine, with two eagles and two birdies seeing him turn in six-under 30. But he was only able to pick up one birdie early on his way home, and he could not put any more pressure on the eventual winner.
The Race To Q-School Series is made up of three separate series of events. Each series is made up of three tournaments and will have its own Order of Merit. The top four finishers from each series will receive paid entry fees into Sunshine Tour Q-School in April 2023. Any Q-school exempt players finishing in the top four of each series will win the cash equivalent of a Q-school entry fee (R8,000). The other two series are sponsored by Golferade Hydro Sport and Wanna Be a Champion, and take place in February and March respectively.
The next event in the College Sports America Series tees off at The Els Club Copperleaf on January 23.
